Hope And Wait
by Tatsumaki-sama
Summary: Winry begins to lose hope after waiting so long for Edward.


**Disclaimer -** I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of its characters.

_**If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you'll never enjoy the sunshine. **_

_- Morris West_

**Hope And Wait**

Waiting. I am so sick and tired of waiting.

It was almost a curse. Time passed so slowly for me. Every day was like a year and every year was as long as a century. Life didn't seem so bright anymore. Every since Edward Elric went away.

A part of me complained why I was complaining. I had a wonderful grandma. I had a wonderful job. I had wonderful friends, such as Alphonse Elric, Private Sheska of the State Military and Rose Thomas. I lived in the beautiful Resembool. I had everything I wanted.

Except for one thing.

Edward Elric simply disappeared from my life not too long ago. Without giving me a warning. Without saying goodbye. Without any promise to return. There were whispers and rumours floating around Resembool and even as far as Central.

" - happened to Full Metal - ?"

" - just disappeared ..."

" Haven't heard from him - "

" Dead - "

I covered my ears. I couldn't stand hearing their voices, all talking about Edward. Why do they speak as if he didn't exist anymore? I knew he was alive. I had no proof and for all I know, they could lock me up in an asylum for my rambling.

But there was a feeling. An undescrible feeling of hope in my chest. Begging that I would hold on for a second longer. As strange as it is, the feeling sounded a lot like Edward.

I started to see him everywhere. The metal arms and legs I make remind me of his own metallic arm and leg that I had made for him. Every look in the mirror at my blond hair were a reflection of his golden strands. A glass of milk ached my heart because it was one of the things he hated with a passion.

Often, I would sit and think about him. Daydream about how he looked now or what he was doing. Was he trying to come back here? Did he think about me? What if he liked someone else?

These thoughts poisoned me, taunting and teasing me ruthlessly. The more I tried to forget, the more I remembered. I cursed them, even throwing my beloved wrench at the wall in my frustration.

That's when I realized, I was in love with Edward Elric.

Fate was too cruel. Just when I realize I had fallen in love with him, they had taken him away from me.

Grandma Pinako observed my odd behavior and called it "pining". I was not pining. I was merely "exerting my time and stress into something that irritates me in the form of something known as Edward Elric". It wasn't the same thing.

I decided to go out one evening. Perhaps the cool air could clear my head and help my focus on my job rather than some boy. Alphonse had gone away to finish his training with Izumi Curtis, his master. Rose was back in Lior and Sheska was researching about something for the military.

And of course, there just had to be a lamp sitting on the rail in the balcony. It just had to be there.

Out of habit, I flicked the lamp on and off. I remembered doing this for Edward and Al when we were younger. It was like a signal, to tell them to come home.

Ever since they lost their mom, they didn't have a place to call home. Sure, they had a house and roof over their heads but it wasn't 'home'. So, I decided to flash the lamp to tell them that they do have a home. A home with me.

A wave of bitterness and despair threatened to overwhelm me. I just couldn't take it anymore.

" Edward!" I yelled into the darkness of the night. " Edward! You idiot! Come home! You know you can hear me! Edward! Come home!" My voice broke into a sob. " Come back ... Edward ... please ... come back to me ..."

Grandma found me, crying softly, leaning against the rail. She led me back to the living room, wrapped me in warm blankets and gave me some hot chocolate to drink.

During that whole period, she didn't ask any questions or gave any advice to me. But her eyes reflected what she wanted to say.

I never felt so lost in my life. The only time I had felt this lonely was when my parents died in the war. The last thing I remember was seeing their retreating backs, moving farther and farther away from me. The last time I saw Ed, he was moving farther and farther away from me, his back towards me. Was I doomed to see all my loved ones leave?

It has been a few weeks after that incident. Grandma still didn't ask me about my sudden outburst. I was sitting at my workbench, feverishly tightening the screws on the metal and polishing it to a clean, silver hue when Grandma approached me.

" Go outside and enjoy yourself," Pinako nudged me. " You've been working too hard. Go have some fun. You're only young once."

Sighing, I reluctantly left my workbench. It wasn't that I was completely and absolutely obsessed with my work. It was just that I needed something to distract me before I start seeing my nightmares in the daytime too.

Den curled by my feet as I laid, stretched out on the grass. The wind was cool and breezy. Everything was so peaceful outside but everything inside wasn't.

Rolling over to my side, I ask Den, " Do you think he's out there somewhere?" I didn't need to explain to Den who 'he' was. " I wouldn't be surprised if he's still shorter than me." I gave a laugh, rubbing Den's stomach, exactly the way he likes it. However, my laugh didn't last long.

" I - I really miss him." Den cocked his head, whining softly. " I think ... I'm going crazy. What if I spend my whole life waiting for him and he never comes back? What if, I waste away my life thinking he'll return the next day? Would I die, filled with false hope?"

Tears prickled my eyes yet I held them back. I cried more than enough these past weeks. I simply had no more tears to cry.

Suddenly, Den's head perked up and he shot off into the distance.

" Den! Wait!" I raced after him. I shouldn't have rambled off like that. Now I'm scaring my own dog. Reaching the winding road connected to all the houses, I stopped in my tracks.

A young man stood in the rocky path, his face covered by long strands of hair. He wore a brown overcoat and strange clothing underneath it. His long golden hair was tied back in a long ponytail. Den barked, wagging his tail madly. I was surprised that this stranger easily tamed the normally cautious dog.

When he straightened his back and turned towards me, I gasped.

" Oi." He smiled at me and everything seemed to disappear before my eyes. " Winry."

All breath left my lungs. I clutched my wildly thumping heart. After three years, there he was, standing there. Tall. Handsome. Matured. Real. But most importantly, Edward Elric was alive.

Leaping into his arms, I half-sobbed, half-yelled. Tears blinded me. I had a thousand questions to ask and half a mind to smack him with my wrench. But at that moment, I didn't care.

There was hope after all.


End file.
